CTFishTalk.com: Batterson Park Pond 10/25 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

My kids left for the bus stop at 6:45 am and I was on the water at Batterson Park Pond by 7:30 am. My plan was to troll for walleye with my Hobie. The air was chilly, but I had bundled up pretty well because TurtleKiss (aka Kira) told me to after the last time I complained about the cold. I wore a heavy coat and my surplus Austrian Army Gore-Tex waterproof pants. It worked well; I never got cold. Thanks, Kira. There was green scum on the water at the launch ramp, but past the scum, the water was clear down to at least five feet. It was foggy with absolutely no wind. The fog got denser throughout the morning, but started to burn off around 11:00 am. By 11:40 am, it was all gone. At one point, probably around 10:00 am, I unknowingly pedaled my Hobie around in a big circle in the middle of the pond a couple of times, because I couldn't see the shore and the water was like glass. The water temperature ranged between 53 and 54 degrees all day.

From the boat launch ramp on the south end of the pond, I trolled a shallow diving (i.e., two to four feet) three inch yellow perch Rapala stickbait north along the eastern shore. Almost immediately, within 30 feet of the launch, I landed a 10 inch yellow perch:

I think it's kind of creepy that a yellow perch will hit a yellow perch lure. After I unhooked the cannibalistic perch, I threw in a deeper diving (i.e., six feet) four inch yellow perch Rapala stickbait to go with the shallow diver. I tried to troll at a depth of seven to nine feet. At about 7:45 am, I caught a second 10 inch yellow perch, also on the shallow diver, and at about 8:30 am, I caught a third 10 inch yellow perch, again on the shallow diver. By this time, I had looped the pond and was back at the ramp.

I decided to make another loop of the pond at a depth of 12 to 14 feet. This time, I trolled the deeper diving perch Rapala stickbait and an even deeper diving (i.e., four to eight feet) yellow-bellied shad Rapala crankbait. When I was halfway up the east shore, a green jonboat motored by me. I was about to yell that motors aren't allowed on Batterson when I realized that it was a DEP boat. By the time I was turning around at the north shore, the DEP boat had looped around the pond and came up behind me. Yes, I answered a survey and provided my Conservation Identification Number (i.e., fishing license number) for the third time. Thankfully, I knew the DEP guy from the last time I was stopped. It was Kira's buddy from Black Pond. So we chatted about fishing for about 30 minutes. He told me about a few nearby lakes and ponds that I still have to explore! After he left, I tried to finish my loop, but soon discovered that I was turning big circles in the heavy fog out in the middle of the pond. When I finally got my bearings, I headed down the west shore to the southwest corner of the pond. I got absolutely nothing during my second loop of the pond. And my finder didn't mark a single fish all day!

I decided to work my way up the west shore to the beach in the northwest corner of the pond. I stayed in about four to six feet of water most of the way up the shore. I threw a swirlytail grub jig and a wacky smoke/red flake Dinger, but got nothing. In the first cove up the shore from the south end, I found a partially eviscerated four inch sunfish twitching in the glassy one and a half foot deep water over the rocks next to the shore. I put my wacky rig hook (i.e., a Gamakatsu size 4 octopus circle hook) through its lower and upper lips, and pulled it along behind me as I slowly worked my way up the shore. Neither it nor the grub jig got any hits. As I got closer to the beach, the bottom rose until the depth was only a couple of feet. I put a five inch green pumpkin/red flake Senko back on my wacky rig and pitched it toward the cattails on the shore. I got only a few nibbles from a panfish. At about 12:30 pm, I texted Fishface (aka Tim) and asked him how he had caught the largemouth bass at Hall's Pond this weekend. He told me that he caught them on a spinnerbait in deeper water, away from the shore. I told Tim that I was only going to fish for another 30 minutes and began pitching the wacky Senko away from the shore. When I reached the white dock off the beach, I got a few nibbles from a panfish, but the Senko fell off on the next cast. So I put the Dinger back on and pitched it out. I got a nibble and thought that I must have hooked the panfish. But as I began reeling it in, it started to pull steadily to the side around my boat and headed for the shore. It was definitely not a panfish. It pulled harder and harder, and when I first caught a glimpse of it about ten feet from the boat, I thought that I had hooked a really good keeper walleye. As I worried that it would snap my braided line with its teeth, I got it next to the boat and realized that it was a largemouth bass. A BIG largemouth bass. I reached down and lipped it, and it was a whopper:

It was 22 inches long and weighed five pounds, two ounces. It's my new personal best largemouth bass. Whoo hoo! Very Happy

As I headed back to the ramp, I trolled the yellow-bellied shad Rapala crankbait and caught a fourth 10 inch yellow perch about 50 feet from the ramp. I was off the water before 1:30 pm. But now I can't wait to get back out on the water. Last weekend, I heard that an Indian Summer was forecast for this week. If anyone wants to hit the water during the day this week, just let me know.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

Woo-Hoo!!!!!!! Now you have to change your avatar! Very Happy

Good going on your new PB Exclamation

SeaDog1

Daryl · Joined: 24 Sep 2010 Posts: 70 Location: Simsbury, CT

CONGRATS PHIL Laughing

That's one nice fish!
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Daryl

"Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers." - Herbert Hoover

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Why, I think I will. Very Happy

Thanks, Stephen!
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

Yeah! Your welcome!
Oh! And now I can read your ball cap Exclamation

SeaDog1

steven1smith · Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 206 Location: South Windsor

Nice one PECo! That wacky rigged dinger always seems to catch fish. And I wish I could make it out this week because of the weather, but there is such a thing as school...
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Catch and release only.
A 4lb bass is not going to grow to 8lbs on your wall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxCdnQ8WEfQ

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Yeah, sometimes being old is a good thing. Very Happy

_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

ALRIGHT! -> Now that's a GREAT pic and Avatar Exclamation

SeaDog1

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice job on the new PB! Any idea how deep that guy was?

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Hey, Dawg! The battery on my finder died about 30 minutes earlier, but I was sitting in about two and a half feet of water over a carpet of dead weeds, about 20 feet off the south corner of the dock. The fish was on the bottom, probably in less than four feet of water.

I was about to leave and really thought that I had hooked a panfish. As it pulled steadily to the side, I thought that it was a largemouth bass. Then I saw it flash as it flipped over near the bottom about 10 feet from the boat and thought that it was a really decent walleye. It never jumped. It just pulled steadily and strongly. I was surprised to see a bass next to the boat.
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

SWfish · Joined: 31 Aug 2010 Posts: 21

Great fish. Good to see someone still catching them. It's been a slow past couple of weeks for me.

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

You couldn't jump or move very quick either...if you had a belly that big Very Happy

You gave me hope that I may be able to get another bass or two before the ice comes. Of course it looks like it will be extremely cold this weekend Shocked

I may try to sneak out of work for a couple of hours on Wed.

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

Congrats on the PB bass and thank you for taking my (common sense) advice to dress for the conditions. However, there's an error in your report. Batterson is the place with the constant wind vortex, devoid of bass. You obviously got lost & trespassed on some "glassy" nearby private pond. You're lucky no one reported you. Laughing

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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Kira!

Where have you been Woman?
Haven't seen a post from you in a while!

Now-Now! Be nice (LOL) -> Phil worked hard for that PB! Very Happy

We all know Batterson hasn't been kind to you! Wink

Phil just happened to be in the right place at the right time + a little Luck Exclamation

SeaDog1

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT